Product Description

Experience high-definition picture quality and sound with the Sony BDV-E300 Blu-ray Disc home theater system. With this all-in-one system you enjoy the benefits of a Blu-ray Disc player - Full HD 1080p and DVDs in near HD picture quality, plus a powerful 5.1 channel surround sound system that decodes DTS-HD, DTS-HD MA, Dolby Digital Plus and TrueHD high-definition surround sound formats. The system is upgradeable for multi-room listening – up to 10 rooms – and wireless rear speakers for convenient positioning (AIR-SA10, WAHT-SA10 and EZW-T100 sold separately).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #488 in Consumer Electronics
• Color: Black
• Brand: Sony
• Model: BDVE300
• Released on: 2009-07-24
• Dimensions: 3.60" h x 15.70" w x 16.90" l, 11.90 pounds

Features

• Plays your Blu-ray Disc movies in Full HD 1080p
• Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio
• BD- Live ready
• Plays DVDs and upscales them to near high definition
• HDMI output

Customer Reviews

An excellent value for the price
I bought the BDVE300 to go with a Sony 52Z5100 HDTV that I also bought from Amazon. I bought it mainly because I wanted to match the two items for both esthetic and practical reasons. The black speakers match the TV perfectly. I can also control both with one controller and easily run the TV sound through the HTS.
I am not an audiophile. So I didn't try to compare technical specs. This review is strictly subjective (in part to counter the one above) and is based on what I have heard while using the system with the TV.

The room in which the TV is located in is a 20 X 20 den/family room with a connecting dining area and kitchen. The entire area is open. It has wooden floors with a single oval area rug in front of the fireplace and TV.

I found the sound to be exceptionally clear and clean, without distortion or unevenness. I can tell a definite difference between the TV speakers and the BDV300 speakers. The BDV300 sound seems more spacious. It fills the room without blowing you away. The sound has more fullness to it than the TV speakers.
I have not tried it at full volume. I have never felt the need to do so. I have watched two musical DVDs, a Mary Chapin Carpenter concert and the 10th anniversary recording of Les Miserables. In both cases the music sounded beautiful and clear. You could hear all of nuances of the voices and the words of the songs were distinct and clear.

If you want strong bass that shakes the room, I am not sure this is the system for you. The bass is there but it is blended in with the other sounds. I am sure I can adjust it for greater effect. However, I am currently running the system at default values.

As for the lack of an S-air wireless cartridge, as mentioned by the reviewer above. It is true you have to buy it separately. However, everything I read about the system stated this plainly up front. If you need this feature it is available as an option. In researching this system I found this individual posted the same opinion on every web site he could find. I don't think his opinion was a fair assessment of the system's capabilities.
I found the set up to be rather easy. The instructions show various options on installing it alone with the TV or with a cable/SAT box or with an external DVD, etc. With the external mic it took about one minute to calibrate and maybe 15 mins. to connect the wires.

Be aware that Sony uses a proprietary plug on the DVD/Radio/Amp end of the system. The speaker end is a simple pinch type terminal. There is a FM & AM receiver as part of the system. I have not tried them yet. The DVD/CD/Blue ray player worked fine.

The bottom line is: The BDVE300 does everything Sony says it does. If you are looking for something to enhance your TV experience and play CDs with good clear sound, this system will do it well. For the price, I think it is an excellent value. I found no "gotchas" or "I can't believe they did this". So I gave it a rating of 5. I am very pleased with my purchase.

John

A decent HT system....not the best
Here is my honest review about this product....I got it free with my Sony 52" W5100 TV purchase from Amazon.

Pros:
-->It is a complete package....it has a blu ray player, Ipod docking station, and the regular 5.1 channel sound system.
--> It comes with a sound calibration unit. What this basically does is you set all your speakers around you where you want them installed and then set the calibration unit at the place where you sit to watch your TV, like your couch....and then the calibration unit will tell you if your speakers are optimally arranged and will help you finalize the exact position of your speakers around you to give you optimal effect. This feature was really helpful...
--> It upscales image to 1080p
--> It has the same XMB system that sony features. This makes life very easy...trust me...also it syncs with your Sony TV and you can use 1 remote for both systems
--> It has internet capability....and very easy to use as well...just connect a Ethernet cable to it and you can browse HD content over the web using your remote as a keypad.
--> Ipod docking station is very helpful since we have 2 ipods, 2 iphones...all our music is on them, so you can connect them directly to your HT system and listen to music.
--> 1000 W of total power output gives you really good sound...unless you plan to start a recording studio or something....this system will be perfect for good sound


Cons:
--> Most irritable is the speaker cable length.....my rear speakers barely reach behind my sofa if i run the wires around the walls....in other systems, even though the cables may be short, you can still buy a longer 16gauge cable and run it around. In this system, the ends that go into the blu ray player are soldered into a plastic connector. So unless i am willing to mess around with re-soldering which is a pain.....i have to extend my existing speaker wires by crimping extensions to the other end that goes into the speaker...instead of replacing the entire speaker wire.....that is most irritating
--> It only has a HDMI in port....so you cannot use it as a receiver and it will not decode the audio for you....you have to either use optical/digital cable or component cable for audio....
--> The first product i got turned out defective...it just stopped working the next day and my rented blu ray DVD from block buster got stuck inside.....but Amazon just replaced the whole system and even re-reimbursed me for the DVD cost that i have to pay block buster....Amazon is the best.....

-->

Great system for the price
Very happy with my purchase. It was easy to install - although the out of the box speaker cables are very short - especially if you're putting the unit in a entertainment center.

My gripes would include no current support for online services like Netflix - even though the box is capable of it; care of the fact it's BD Live capable (and higher end models supposedly do it) - and the other is the included 'iPod dock' - the TPM-20. You have to spend another $70-$100 to get the version approved for use with the iPhone - the TPM-50.